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Union Targets Improved Self-Sufficiency for UK Food After Brexit

UK - Yesterday (9 August) marks the day in the calendar when the British larder would run bare if we fed the nation only British food from the start of January.

This figure is based on the UK's current self-sufficiency level of 61 per cent - a figure which has stagnated for the past 15 years.

The UK Government therefore has a real opportunity with post-Brexit policymaking to reverse the downward trend in the nation’s self-sufficiency in food, said the National Farmers Union.

NFU President Meurig Raymond said: “For the first time in 40 years, the UK Government has an opportunity to create policies which will really work for businesses in the UK.

“Increasing our self-sufficiency in food isn’t about closing off the markets we have in other countries or being protectionist about our food production. It’s about capitalising on what this country is good at – we have world-class standards for food production in terms of traceability and animal welfare.

“We have a massive opportunity for British farming, but, if it’s not seized, we risk exporting our ability to produce food to other countries without the standards British farming upholds as well as increased exposure to the volatility of global markets.”